Blue Jays free agent target: Alec Bohm

If it feels like the third base position for the Toronto Blue Jays has been a revolving door since Matt Chapman’s departure at the end of the 2023 season, that’s because it has.

In 2024, Ernie Clement got the lion’s share of starts at the hot corner. In 2025, most starts at third base were gobbled up by Clement, Addison Barger and Will Wagner. In 2026, Kazuma Okamoto started 143 games at third base, but before leaping to the majors, he had started only about 62% of his games at third base while playing in Japan.

Okamoto certainly passed the litmus test defensively and offensively for a big league third baseman, but could there be a better solution out there?

Alec Bohm is one of a litany of free agent infielders to hit the open market. After spending the last nine seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, he’s a free agent for the first time in his career.

At first glance, it might seem like the Blue Jays should want no part of the 30-year-old, but I think I may have talked myself into believing Bohm should not only bounce back in 2027, but might also fit on the Blue Jays roster.

2026 Season Stats

It seems like it’s been a slow fall from grace for Bohm, as he’s been perpetually mentioned in Phillies trade rumours over the last few years. Having seemingly peaked with a 3.3 fWAR season in 2024, the former Top 100 Prospect has had a rough go of it the last few years in Philly.

Bohm was lights-out in the first half of 2024, slashing .295/.348/.482 in 94 games, but ran out of steam in the second half before a hand injury cut his season short. 2026 was the polar opposite, as he slashed .215/.278/.354 in the first half and .298/.369/.425 in the second.

Still, the 90 wRC+ season in 2026 was the lowest for Bohm since his 76 wRC+ season in 2021, and his modest total of 15 home runs looks like the norm for him now. The former National League Rookie of the Year runner-up spent the majority of his season hitting either cleanup or fifth for the Phillies in 2026.

Bohm’s a big bat-to-ball guy, and typically doesn’t whiff or strike out a ton. If that sounds like the Blue Jays equivalent of Alejandro Kirk, you’d be right.

Defensively, it was a rough season for Bohm at the hot corner, as he ranked second-last in Fielding Run Value among all starting third basemen, and his -10 defensive runs saved placed him fourth-last at the position. His lack of range really seems to hurt his defensive game, which is likely why he spent one-third of his season manning first base.

Is Bohm a good fit for the Blue Jays?

“But the Blue Jays already have a third baseman,” I can hear most people screaming at the screen. I wouldn’t suggest moving Kazuma Okamoto off third base in year two of his four-year contract, but it wouldn’t hurt for the Blue Jays to bring aboard another infielder who can hit for a little more pop.

Ernie Clement has been a defensive wizard and a good soldier for the Blue Jays the past four seasons, but the Jays can’t afford to have multiple infielders with a sub-100 wRC+ in the same season. Andrés Giménez can get away with it because he’s playing elite defence at a premium position, but they need more offensive contributions from their infielders.

Bohm may not move the needle very much, but he’d be a welcome addition, either at third base or as a backup first baseman or designated hitter.

Spotrac puts Bohm’s free agent value in the neighbourhood of a three-year contract worth $37.83 million total, with an AAV of $12.6 million. FanGraphs predicts Bohm is in line for a bounce-back campaign in 2027, as he’s projected for a 2.2 fWAR season, tied for second-highest among free agent third basemen (only Teruaki Sato is higher at 2.7 fWAR).

There’s a case to be made that Bohm is a good buy-low candidate for a club like the Blue Jays, but the positional fit isn’t ideal with the current infield depth chart. He’d actually be more of a liability at third base defensively than Okamoto, and wouldn’t be an upgrade on first base defence over Vladimir Guerrero Jr., either.

In a secondary role, he could fit as a backup at third base, first base and DH, but there are a lot of moving pieces to make that work. On the right team, Bohm could excel in a platoon role starting against left-handed pitchers. In his career, Bohm has slashed .302/.351/.503 against lefties compared to .216/.315/.372 against righties.

Considering one-third of all games started by American League pitchers in 2026 were left-handed, Bohm wouldn’t see a ton of playing time in a potential platoon role with the Blue Jays. Still, he’d see a couple of starts every week and would be one of the first options off the bench against a left-handed reliever in late-game situations.